Gaming & Culture —

Win a free Nintendo 3DS XL in our sweepstakes

Our US readers have a chance to win a 3DS XL and New Super Mario Bros. 2.

When Nintendo decided to increase the size of the 3DS, it meant business. If you read the Ars Technica review, you’ll know that the 3DS XL’s new larger screen and ergonomic feel makes it the preferred way to experience 3DS games and apps. And if you’re coveting one of these new handhelds, we have you covered.

Ars Technica is giving away one Nintendo 3DS XL along with a copy of New Super Mario Bros. 2 to one lucky person.

Though we would like to open up this sweepstakes to all Ars Technica readers, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the 50 United States and District of Columbia to participate this time around.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Click here for full rules. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Nintendo.

How to enter

Here’s all you need to do to have a chance to win the 3DS XL: simply share your love for handheld game systems with us by commenting on this post.

If there’s vintage hardware that you still love to play, tell us what games you play on it. You can even post a picture of yourself with your game system (though posting a picture is not required to win). And if you don't have a handheld game system yet? No worries, just tell us how much you dig gaming in general. The key thing to remember is that by entering a comment on this post, you can enter to win. Also, don't forget that Ars Technica subscribers are automatically included in the sweepstakes. And again, winners must live in the continental US.

The sweepstakes begins Wednesday, August 22 at 9am CT, and closes Friday, August 25 at 9pm CT.

Listing image by Aurich Lawson

Cesar Torres
Cesar is the Social Editor at Ars Technica. His areas of expertise are in online communities, human-computer interaction, usability, and e-reader technology. Cesar lives in New York City. Emailcesar.torres@arstechnica.com//Twitter@Urraca

iPhone gaming has made many casual titles easy to reach for and I'm quite impressed with how far things have come. Sometimes you just need to mash some buttons, though. My GBA still serves me well to satisfy that urge.

I have often wished that I had a handheld for use on trips. I'm not all that familiar with the games available for it, but I would definitely play the Mario game that came with it, maybe get some others. Especially if they have downloadable versions of some old RPG's.

I fondly remember my original Game Boy, though I much preferred the follow-up Game Boy Pocket. I spent countless hours playing Pokemon and Super Mario Land. Sure, it didn't have a color screen or a backlight and the battery life left a lot to be desired, but I still had a blast with it.

I have loved nintendo's mobile lineup ever since I was a kid. From Gameboy Color, to Gameboy Advance, to the Nintendo DS, I have enjoyed many hours playing Pokemon, Mari, and many others. I wonder how good the 3DS XL is though.. :m

Awesome! I actually have every Nintendo handheld since the original Game Boy. I don't tend to play old hardware or games since time seems better spent on new stuff. But I will be breaking out my DSi to play Pokemon Black / White 2.

One Christmas, my wife managed to completely surprise me by getting me a DS and secretly arranging for other family members to buy me games for it. She did her research and ran around to several stores to get the color she felt I would like the most.

It was probably the best and most thoughtful gift I've received for Christmas. That DS has been my companion on many trips, and using it always reminds me of how much my wife must love me and understand me. It reminds me how lucky I am. It's fantastic.

Getting a free 3DS would save my wife the trouble of trying to pull this off again, which I would count as my Christmas gift to her, so really letting me win is letting two people win.

I love Nintendo and always have. The great thing about the 3DS is that it reminds me of the Game and Watch 2 screen portable, which I still have. Nintendo doesn't have to reinvent the wheel but instead they just retread. Hope I win the 3ds XL!!! Thanks!

My fondest memory of playing a portable console was when I was eight years old, and my aunt gave me her old Game Boy with her copy of Tetris 2. I played that game for days when I got it. That thing survived many falls, thefts, and illnesses. It gave me years of enjoyment until it sadly died ten years later.

Over the years I have switched from one handheld to another just to follow the Pokemon series. I've spent too many hours going through and playing those games on handheld systems. Aside from those games, handhelds are convenient to use and to carry around with you. So easy to play literally anywhere.

I kind of missed the boat on the early Game Boys. But I had an SP (which was durable as heck, and I donated to an 8 year old girl who loved it) and now I have a DS. Played a lot of things on my DS, though my girlfriend now jokingly calls it my Disgaea machine. I'd love to check out the new 3DSXL; sign me up!

My wife and I have our SNES, N64, and Wii all hooked up to the TV simultaneously, and play games on all three regularly (we have a GameCube too, but it's not hooked up since the Wii doubles as one).

It was a gigantic pain to do, and it required the use of some crazy adaptors and converters - the SNES is actually plugged into the N64, which then goes out to the TV - but it was totally worth it. All we have to do now is flip any console on and it just works - nothing has to be plugged/unplugged or shuffled around.

I started my love for the handheld world with the original grey brick, Gameboy. Since then, I've enjoyed many of Nintendo's handhelds as well as ventured into Sony's realm. My favorite console so far has probably been the PSP. It's just jam packed full of amazing JRPGs. I've always loved handhelds mainly for the fact of not being tied to a TV to sport an awesome title. I also find the handheld consoles are so cheap to develop on, that developers are more readily willing to try out new things. So you end up finding creative games on it.

Since seeing the 3DSXL, I've been wanting it bad. The 3DS is so tiny that it causes major cramps in the hands. As well as it's tiny screen is hard to see much on. Thanks for the opportunity to win one!

NeoGeo Pocket Color. Man I played the crap out of that thing when it first came out, blew the GBC away in every spec possible. I still like to take out pocket bust a move and metal slug from time to time on road/plane trips and have a blast. The battery life was pretty impressive for the graphics.

I've owned pretty much all the nintendo handelds..aside from gameboy advanced, I completely skipped that era (wish i hadn't.) To be honest though, if I could go back and relive one part of my life, it would be Christmas of 2002. That was when I got my copy of Animal Crossing for the gamecube. Whenever I think about it I get this crazy awesome nostalgic feeling. Pure happiness, one of my all-time favorite games. I get the same feeling when I think about playing the new animal crossing on the 3DS, Animal Crossing: Jump Out. I can only hope that it brings back that awesome sensation I had from the first one. Either way, I'm going to be buying that game and enjoying it on the bigger 3DS XL screen. I want optimum experience for it and that requires the new 3DS!

I've owned pretty much all the nintendo handelds..aside from gameboy advanced, I completely skipped that era (wish i hadn't.) To be honest though, if I could go back and relive one part of my life, it would be Christmas of 2002. That was when I got my copy of Animal Crossing for the gamecube. Whenever I think about it I get this crazy awesome nostalgic feeling. Pure happiness, one of my all-time favorite games. I get the same feeling when I think about playing the new animal crossing on the 3DS, Animal Crossing: Jump Out. I can only hope that it brings back that awesome sensation I had from the first one. Either way, I'm going to be buying that game and enjoying it on the bigger 3DS XL screen. I want optimum experience for it and that requires the new 3DS!

I've been debating trading in my 3DS for the $100 credit towards the XL...but part of my wants to keep my 3DS and just get the 3DS XL so that when Animal Crossing comes out, me and my girlfriend can play together But...if I win the 3DS XL soon, then I would turn in my 3DS and buy a 2nd XL, so that we could both enjoy Animal Crossing on the big screen! AHHH! Goosebumps

Other than the really old school one game systems (lcd and such), my first portable game console was the DS. Never had a game boy. I have enjoyed the DS though, but it's hard to justify buying a new handheld when my phone works for most casual gaming. I'll take one for free though!

In my youth I had a Sega Game Gear. I remember playing games like Sonic and Cool Spot. I haven't had a handheld since, until the original DS was released. I really enjoyed the games released for the DS, but deep down I really want to play some Game Gear and Game Boy games that are being released on the 3DS XL.